RURAL MICROFINANCE AND CLIENT RETENTION: EVIDENCE FROM MALAWI

Marc J. Epstein, Kristi Yuthas · 2013 · Journal of Developmental Entrepreneurship

Summary. Microfinance institutions typically avoid rural markets due to high operating costs, leaving poor rural populations underserved. Analysis of over 10,000 loans in Malawi reveals that rural clients actually show significantly higher retention rates than urban clients. This finding challenges the cost-focused argument against rural microfinance and demonstrates that serving rural markets can simultaneously improve both financial sustainability and social impact for microfinance institutions.

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@article{epstein-2013-rural-microfinance-client-retention-evidence,
  title   = {RURAL MICROFINANCE AND CLIENT RETENTION: EVIDENCE FROM MALAWI},
  author  = {Marc J. Epstein and Kristi Yuthas},
  journal = {Journal of Developmental Entrepreneurship},
  year    = {2013},
  doi     = {10.1142/s1084946713500064},
  url     = {https://doi.org/10.1142/s1084946713500064}
}

TY  - JOUR
TI  - RURAL MICROFINANCE AND CLIENT RETENTION: EVIDENCE FROM MALAWI
AU  - Marc J. Epstein
AU  - Kristi Yuthas
JO  - Journal of Developmental Entrepreneurship
PY  - 2013
DO  - 10.1142/s1084946713500064
UR  - https://doi.org/10.1142/s1084946713500064
ER  - 

Details

DOI

10.1142/s1084946713500064

Countries

Malawi

Categories

funding, entrepreneurship

Added

2026-04-28